Go Back   Pet forum for dogs cats and humans - Pets.ca > Discussion Groups - mainly cats and dogs > General Forum for cats and dogs

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old November 11th, 2013, 03:31 PM
ichabod'smom ichabod'smom is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: canada
Posts: 4
early neutering (8-16 weeks)

i am totally for spaying and neutering pets.
my question about doing this early is; can this stunt their growth / maturity?
my cat Ichabod (male) was neutered young. when he had a problem with crystals and ended up with a blockage, my vet informed me that he had a very small penis. which made the blockage difficult to treat. i'm just wondering if the early neuter might have anything to do with this???
thoughts?
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old November 11th, 2013, 03:42 PM
marko's Avatar
marko marko is offline
Administrator - Pet lover
 
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Montreal Quebec Canada
Posts: 12,651
Hi there ichabod'smom,

As far as i know early spays and neuters don't have anything to do with the size of the penis. I'd be curious to know if other members agree though.

here's a general podcast we recorded a few years ago that might be of interest.

http://www.pets.ca/blog/pet-podcast/...w-with-dr-lee/
__________________
Please tactfully EDUCATE or IGNORE posters you don't agree with.
Please PM me & Include URLs and post #'s for any issues and it's my pleasure to help.
I'm firm - but fair. Mind the Rules and enjoy your stay.
Newcomers FAQ - How do I post on this BB?
Pet facebook group
Check out the Pet podcast
Follow me on Twitter
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old November 12th, 2013, 07:53 AM
ichabod'smom ichabod'smom is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: canada
Posts: 4
thanks. i did listen to the pod cast. there was nothing in it about size....
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old November 12th, 2013, 08:14 AM
Longblades Longblades is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 2,528
Research I've read disagrees. Mostly I've read the dog literature but some of it covered dogs and cats. Some said such extremely early neuter as paediatric might indeed result in smaller growth of penis and especially in cats where the ureter is small anyway it could cause problems if there was a blockage. Other readings said no. I can point you to a list of information on neuter/spay considerations in cats....umm wait, I think I do have one that deals more with cats. Wait while I go look at the Kustritz research....

Quote:
Feline lower urinary tract disease is a syndrome
consisting of hematuria, dysuria or pollakiuria, and possible
urethral obstruction and is most commonly classified
as idiopathic. The reported incidence of FLUTD
is 0.6%.134 Despite numerous vehemently declared
anecdotes of an increase in the incidence of urethral
obstruction in male cats castrated when young, numerous
studies35,132,135 have failed to detect a correlation between
gonadectomy of cats at any age and a decrease
in diameter of the urethra or an increase in incidence
of FLUTD, with or without urethral obstruction. In 1
large study,136 investigators identified gonadectomy as
a risk factor for development of FLUTD in both female
and male cats and also identified an increased risk of
development of FLUTD in overweight or obese cats. In
that study, sexually intact female cats had a relatively
reduced risk for development of FLUTD.
From: http://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/pdf...ma.231.11.1665

As you can see this one says no. But I have read others that said yes. I think how you define "young" is important. Young might mean pre-puberty for some but I'm thinking you mean paediatric which varies but might be before 12 weeks or even before 8 weeks?
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old November 12th, 2013, 11:39 AM
rottysrule rottysrule is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: British columbia
Posts: 95
i have hear that spaying or neutering the pet early can cause the animal not to grow as big as they should have,. other say it doesn't effect the animal at all. So i guess it all depends on the animal.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old November 12th, 2013, 12:22 PM
Longblades Longblades is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 2,528
Quote:
Originally Posted by rottysrule View Post
i have hear that spaying or neutering the pet early can cause the animal not to grow as big as they should have,. other say it doesn't effect the animal at all. So i guess it all depends on the animal.
In large breed dogs there is significant evidence that neuter spay before puberty means the dog may grow longer long bones. That can put joint angles out and the fact there are more orthopedic problems in such dogs than in intact dogs is thus believed by many to be related to pre-puberty neuter/spay.

A male dog neutered before puberty may not develop in his head, neck and shoulders and be smaller there than an intact male. This effect is not so noticeable in the girls who don't bulk up in those areas like the boys do anyway. This is quite easily seen in horses. A gelding cut early will not have the neck muscles of a stallion.

rottysrule, this would be of concern in your breed, a large breed dog. I have provided a list of readings, all scientific research before on this board. If you can't find it I can post it again. Certainly there are far more reasons than mere appearance and more health concerns than just the joint one to neuter spay pre-puberty or even at all, as more recent research is beginning to show.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old November 12th, 2013, 04:44 PM
Dog Dancer's Avatar
Dog Dancer Dog Dancer is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 6,667
I don't have any information on spay/neuter in cats that young, but it does seem extreme to me. The animals have these organs for a reason, and removing them that early has got to have an effect.

Last edited by Dog Dancer; November 12th, 2013 at 05:44 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old November 15th, 2013, 12:29 PM
rottysrule rottysrule is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: British columbia
Posts: 95
Quote:
Originally Posted by Longblades View Post
In large breed dogs there is significant evidence that neuter spay before puberty means the dog may grow longer long bones. That can put joint angles out and the fact there are more orthopedic problems in such dogs than in intact dogs is thus believed by many to be related to pre-puberty neuter/spay.

A male dog neutered before puberty may not develop in his head, neck and shoulders and be smaller there than an intact male. This effect is not so noticeable in the girls who don't bulk up in those areas like the boys do anyway. This is quite easily seen in horses. A gelding cut early will not have the neck muscles of a stallion.

rottysrule, this would be of concern in your breed, a large breed dog. I have provided a list of readings, all scientific research before on this board. If you can't find it I can post it again. Certainly there are far more reasons than mere appearance and more health concerns than just the joint one to neuter spay pre-puberty or even at all, as more recent research is beginning to show.
I did notice that my last dog china wasn't as big as she should have been and we got her fixed around her first heat.. my dog Nyx who a rotty mix just got fixed just before 2 and i have a pitty mix who got also fixed this past month and she was under a year. only reason we got both done right away is there was an intact male that got would get out and it was driving me nuts as i was afraid to let my dogs out in my fenced back yard in the off chance he got in my yard. My next dog(years down the line) probably wont be fixed until 2 also , as i want the pup to grow the way it should.
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old November 15th, 2013, 12:43 PM
Longblades Longblades is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 2,528
I'm not sure I made it clear. A dog/bitch neutered pre-puberty may grow TALLER than nature intended. Ultimate weight is not believed to be affected. A male neutered pre-puberty may be Smaller in his head, neck and shoulders and chest than nature intended.

If the dog is not purebred then you can't even guess what the final outcome should have been. Even within same sex litters of purebreds of known parentage final growth can vary.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
early spay and neuter

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Forum Terms of Use

  • All Bulletin Board Posts are for personal/non-commercial use only.
  • Self-promotion and/or promotion in general is prohibited.
  • Debate is healthy but profane and deliberately rude posts will be deleted.
  • Posters not following the rules will be banned at the Admins' discretion.
  • Read the Full Forum Rules

Forum Details

  • Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8
    Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
    vBulletin Optimisation by vB Optimise (Reduced on this page: MySQL 0%).
  • All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:06 AM.